CRICKET
Thunder players collide
Two Sydney Thunder players in Australia’s T20 Big Bash League required overnight hospital treatment on Friday after colliding while fielding in a match against the Perth Scorchers. Team officials said that Cameron Bancroft’s season was over after the Thunder opener sustained a broken right shoulder blade and broken nose in a collision with teammate Daniel Sams. Sams appeared to be knocked out by the collision. The match was delayed while both players were taken off the field. Sams would be sidelined for at least 12 days after he and Bancroft were diagnosed with concussions, the team said. The Thunder won the match by four wickets.
Photo: AP
SOCCER
Nice defeat Rennes
Nice on Friday beat Stade Rennais 3-2 to move into fourth in Ligue 1. Both sides produced chance after chance in an entertaining match. The result preserved Nice’s unbeaten home record and lifted them to 27 points, equal with OSC Lille and two points ahead of Olympique Lyonnais ahead of the rest of the weekend’s games. Rennes remained 12th.
Photo: AFP
SOCCER
Bellingham snatches win
Jude Bellingham on Friday snatched 10-man Real Madrid a 2-1 victory against Valencia to take them top of La Liga after winger Vinicius Junior was sent off. Huro Duro scored for Valencia and Luka Modric equalized. Vinicius was dismissed for shoving Los Che goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski in the back of the neck with little over 10 minutes remaining before Bellingham pounced in stoppage-time.
Photo: Reuters
SOCCER
Milan reach final
AC Milan reached Monday’s Supercoppa Italiana final after coming from behind on Friday to beat Juventus 2-1 in Sergio Conceicao’s first game in charge. The win set up a derby decider with Inter, who beat Atalanta BC 2-0 in their semi-final on Thursday. Conceicao could immediately get his hands on a trophy after replacing the sacked Paulo Fonseca as Milan manager on Monday.
Photo: AFP
SOCCER
Pontevedra slay giant
Pontevedra on Friday slayed another giant in the Copa del Rey. The fourth-tier side dispatched high-flying La Liga side RCD Mallorca 3-0 to move into the last 16. Dalisson de Almeida scored from almost 40m, Yelko Pino doubled the lead with a cracking volley and Rufo rounded off the perfect night after a shocking defensive lapse. The Galician side knocked out Villarreal in the previous round. In the night’s other games, Rayo Vallecano and Getafe progressed. Getafe needed extra time to beat second-division Granada 1-0. Borja Mayoral got the only goal in the 93rd minute to put the visitors through. Rayo Vallecano made swift work of second-tier Racing Ferrol, winning 3-1. Alfonso Espino and Jorge de Frutos put the visitors 2-0 up before halftime and Frutos grabbed a third on the hour mark. Alvaro Gimenez scored a late consolation for the home side.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Manchester United on Thursday settled for a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie. United led on Joshua Zirkzee’s goal in the 58th minute, but the hosts equalized 12 minutes later after Bruno Fernandes’ hand ball and Mikel Oyarzabal sent Andre Onana the wrong way from the penalty spot. The Europa League could be a way for United to finish the season with a trophy after crashing out of the FA Cup on Sunday. A spot in the quarter-finals is to be on the line at Old Trafford in the second leg on Thursday next
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